Red moon Rising
by Neo Star
Summary: A boy arrives in Konoha with a message from Sasuke, but after delivering the message looses all his memory. Where will this message lead Sakura and Naruto? SakuXSasu, NaruXHina OCXOC
1. Forgetting is Painful

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto would I be writing fan fiction? No I'd be sitting on Kishimoto-sama's desk, poking him in the side of the head and asking him when he's gonna put Sasuke back in the manga. **

**This takes place four days before Naruto returned. **

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**Rock Lee stood grinning as he faced his rival Hyuuga Neji who also smiled slightly. The two of them were about half a mile outside of Konoha in what had once been a dense copse of trees, but now was a battleground littered with bits of splintered trees and ninja weapons. Both were panting slightly and staring into each others eyes watching of when the other would attack. **

**Rock Lee no longer wore the green jump suit he'd worn while he was a genin. He now wore a sleeveless light green shirt that had the symbols for "Hard Work" In black ink on the back. He also wore green pants that came down to about midway to his shins and were of a darker hue with specially made cargo pockets for his kunai and shuriken. His training weights were now concealed in his sandals. He still kept his hands bandaged, but now hidden inside those bandages were new weights that wrapped around his forearms. **

**Neji had also changed his clothing style, he now wore a white, long sleeved shirt that hung loose off his body. The sleeves came down to about the middle of his hand. He also wore simple white pants with a black sash and black sandals. **

**Normally the shinobi of Konoha would train in certain areas of the village set apart specifically for that purpose. Unfortunately Neji and Lee had a way of completely destroying everything in an area in just a few training sessions, and after the fifth training area they'd completely destroyed, they'd been politely told to train somewhere else or as Tsunade put it, 'quite destroying our training grounds before or I'll turn both of you inside out!'. The way Lee understood it, Tsunade hadn't slept the previous two nights before that and was slightly irritable at the time. **

**Just as the pair were about to make their move there was a blinding flash of light and an explosion that knocked both of them off their feet. Lee caught himself with one hand and flipped himself back to his feet and Neji was standing in another moment with his Byakugan activated. The two of them launched themselves into the trees to get a closer look. **

"**Two people are fighting. I can't see details but one of them looks like they're from this Akatsuki organization." Neji said calmly as he jumped from branch to branch. **

"**Who's winning?" **

"**Can't tell yet… No, wait one of them is down and the Akatsuki member is moving away very fast." **

"**Alright I'm going to move up ahead. Catch up as soon as you can." Neji nodded and Lee became a blur of movement that quickly disappeared from normal sight. **

**In only a few moments Lee was at a truly amazing and at the same time horrific scene. There was a crater that was at the least fifty feet deep and had to be over a hundred yards in diameter. And at the center there was body. It appeared to be male and was it's hands and knees and was trying desperately to stand. It was slow but the boy finally made it to his feet… then Lee saw just how bad this boy's injuries were. **

**Cuts, bruises and burns ran up and down his body. Some of the cuts had stopped bleeding but others still oozed blood. His left arm looked like it had gotten caught in between the gears of a machine. It had simply twisted it around until even the skin was beginning to tear and the bones splintered. His right leg was apparently badly injured, possibly even broken by the way the boy favored it. Lee ran to his side and the boy looked up to him with his eyes slightly glazed and spoke through the blood that slipped from the edges of his mouth. **

"**My name is Shugojin Ryu… Please tell me… do you know…" He paused here for a moment to catch his breath before continuing. **

**"Haruno Sakura or Uzumaki Naruto?" He asked in a hoarse whisper. **

"**Yes I do." Lee said quickly. **

"**Take me to one of them… Hurry." He muttered. Lee quickly untied the bandages on his arms and wrapped the boy's worst wounds and using what was left tied the boy to his back. With that he quickly removed his training weights and ran quickly to the top of the crater jumped into the trees, before long he crossed paths with Neji. **

"**I'm going back to Konoha." He said quickly before rushing at top speed leaving Neji wondering what in the hell was going on. He followed Lee but didn't even try to catch up. **

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**Haruno Sakura was sitting in her usual position at the very top of Konoha's gates only a foot or so from Hinata Hyuuga. After Sasuke and Naruto left Sakura hadn't had many people to talk to on her afternoons when she wasn't training with Tsunade. She'd decided to spend her time at the gate and watch the forest. It was a peaceful place to think and she soon found herself sharing it with a companion. **

**Hyuuga Hinata was not normally a person to just suddenly do something like sit next to someone she barely knew. But Hinata didn't say a word to Sakura and that suited them both just fine. In fact it suited them just fine the day after, and the day after that too, but on the fourth day when Hinata had joined Sakura on the top of the gate Sakura's curious finally overcame her want for silence. Hinata blushed a little bit and looked away but answered. **

"**I… I think were both w-waiting for someone… a-and…" Hinata stopped there not knowing what to say next. **

"**Well, it's nice to have some company." Sakura had replied. **

**After that the two girls had become friends. Hinata always listened to Sakura no matter how long she talked of Sasuke and she could talk about Naruto with Hinata. **

**That's where the two of them were when Lee came out of the forest carrying a horribly injured boy. Lee called up to her and she looked down. Seeing that he was carrying someone who was obviously injured she quickly jumped down thinking that she might be able to help. As soon as she got a good look at him though she knew that she'd need Tsunade for someone this badly injured. **

"**Are… are you… Haruno Sakura?" She nodded quickly wondering how this boy knew her name. **

"**Good… I was sent… with a message from… Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura's eyes widened as she heard his name, and suddenly he had her full attention. The boy coughed a few times and continued. **

"**He wants you and Uzumaki Naruto to meet him… In one month from… tomorrow… at the Valley of the End." With those words he smiled and finally allowed himself to slip into unconsciousness. **

"**Lee, get him to the hospital quick. I'm going to try to get Tsunade." Sakura said. Lee nodded and took off again carrying the unconscious messenger. **

**Hours afterward Ryu's body was wrapped in so many bandages that he looked like a mummy, but his head was free of them. The boy was rather handsome from what she could see. He still hadn't woken up his heart was beating and his breathing was regular. Sakura looked into the window at the boy and let her mind wander back and forth from him and back to his message. She'd told what Ryu had told her Tsunade who's only reply had been to tell her that Naruto was likely going to be back sometime in the next few days. **

**This boy was certainly strange. With the horrendous wounds he'd suffered he should have been dead but instead he was healing at a rate that rivaled Naruto's own healing abilities. Tsunade had said that if he continued to heal at this rate he'd be back on his feet in only a day or two. **

**As she watched him his eyes flickered open. He looked around for a moment with a slightly bemused look on his face. He slowly sat up and winced in pain just a bit. Sakura walked into the room and smiled at him. **

"**Hello." He said pleasantly. "Um… where am I?" **

"**In Konoha hospital." She answered as she pulled up a chair. **

"**And um… who are you?" He asked slowly. She looked at him slightly confused. **

"**I'm Sakura, remember? The girl you brought Sasuke's message to?" She said coaxingly. **

"**I don't… those names seem familiar but… I can't remember anything… except." His hand suddenly went to his chest and his eyes widened suddenly. **

"**My necklace. Where's my necklace?" He said quickly. Sakura glanced around the room and on the desk there was a necklace made of small chain links, half of which were silver and the other half black. At the end of it there was a pendant with the Yin-Yang symbol on it. She pointed and Ryu snatched it and inspected it for any damage. Sighing with relief he ran his finger across the face of it and it clicked open. Inside was a picture of himself standing behind a beautiful black haired girl with his face beside hers and his arms wrapped around her waist. **

"**Keiko…" He muttered to himself running a single finger over the picture. He sighed again and closed the pendant before putting it around his neck where it hung down to a few inches below his neck. **

"**Um... How did I get here?" he asked with a slightly depressed look in his eyes. Sakura wanted to ask who the girl was but she suppressed the urge and answered his question. **

"**One of our shinobi found you very badly injured. You asked him to bring you to me and after you gave me a message you fainted and you were brought here to be healed." Sakura explained quickly. He nodded but still looked confused. **

"**Strange. I don't remember any of that." Now it was Sakura's turn to look confused. **

"**Well, what do you remember?" She asked curiously. **

"**Not much of anything," He answered sadly, "Just bits and pieces of her." He said and clutched at the amulet again and stared into space. **

"**Who is she?" Sakura asked. **

"**Keiko Yamada." He answered quietly a small smile creeping in at the edge of his lips. **

"**That sounds familiar," Sakura said slowly. "Do you remember anything else about her?" Ryu nodded slowly. **

"**I think… I think I was some sort of guard… and I _know_ that I love her." He said after a moments thought. **

"**Do you know where she is?" Sakura asked. Ryu simply shook his head in response. He sighed and leaned back against the mattress. Sakura was quiet for a moment. She'd hoped to find out something about Sasuke but for at least now that was impossible. **

"**How long till I can get out of here?" He asked in a quiet voice. **

"**Tsunade-sama says about two days. You're healing almost impossibly fast." Sakura answered with a smile. She was reminded of another quick healer. She got up and turned to leave, but as she started to open the door Ryu said. **

"**I'm sorry, Sakura." She turned with a slightly confused look. **

"**What are you sorry for? You haven't done anything to me." She said smiling slightly. **

"**I'm sorry I can't tell you what you need to hear." He replied quietly before rolling over closing his eyes. Sakura turned and walked out of the room wondering what he was talking about. **

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**A few short hours after Sakura left Tsunade walked in and sat in the same chair that Sakura had previously occupied. Ryu sighed wishing that he'd been able to sleep for at least a moment but questions he couldn't answer had plagued him every time he tried to shut his eyes. He slowly sat up and offered the woman a small smile. **

"**Do you need something?" He said quietly. **

"**Yes actually." Tsunade said in a business like tone. "I'm Tsunade, the village's Hokage or leader. I need to know what you plan to do after you leave this hospital." Ryu thought about the question for a moment before shrugging and replying, **

"**I don't know. I haven't given that particular matter much thought." Tsunade smiled upon hearing this. **

"**Good. I'm going to offer you a position as one of our ninjas." Ryu looked up, puzzled. **

"**Why would you do that? As far as I've been told you know little or nothing about me. For all you know I could be a spy for some rival village." He said questioningly. **

"**True, but we are a little short on manpower at the moment and I believe you've already been trained to fight in one form or another." Tsunade explained. **

"**How did you know that?" Ryu said surprised. **

"**Because I do know a small bit about you." Ryu's eyes widened and Tsunade pulled a small book from her back. **

"**This book contains the knowledge we have about ninjas who are… exceptional. There's a short entry on you on page fifty two." Ryu nodded and as she left the room he opened the book and found the page marked at the top as fifty two. On it there was a small picture of him, although it was a few years old. All the actual information about him such as height, weight were marked as unknown. Only his name and a small report about an encounter he'd had with a leaf Jounin or more specifically the Jounin's encounter with some of Ryu's own handiwork. It read, **

"**_Last week I, four special Jounin and three ANBU members were dispatched to investigate and if possible assassinate the leader of a terrorist group that had been making death threats against several leaders of different countries. We found the location of their camp ten days after we'd been given our mission. When we arrived the camp was completely destroyed, bodies of shinobi littering the ground and in the middle of the camp tied to a large pole was the dead leader of this camp. Underneath him on the post was carved a message. It read "Do not threaten Keiko Yamada." No name was given but later intelligence on princess Yamada reveled that her bodyguard was not present the night before we arrived. We have as yet obtained no more information about her bodyguard other than his name, Shugojin Ryu._ **

**_-Elite Leaf Jounin _**

**-Hatake Kakashi **

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**That's all for the first chapter Sorry it's so short (yeah I know that sentence is in everyones first chapter), but I should have the next chapter up shortly, especially if there are reviews hint hint. **


	2. A New Friend

**deedee2034: Thanks for the Review! I hope I didn't mess up with this chapter lol

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"**I understand that you are the one who is responsible for getting me to the hospital." Ryu said as he walked onto thetraining ground. Lee turned and nodded his head with a smile. The rock before him had deep ruts in it from Lee's kicking. Lee hadbeen forcedto change from the large tree stump he'd once used for practice,to bouldersonce the logs had begun to break after little more than fifty kicks.**

"**Yes I am." He said as he looked over Ryu. He looked much different when he wasn't cut up, bruised, and wearingbaisically shredded clothing. He had messy black hair that hung down to his eyes, and was wearing a blue sleeveless shirt with a yin-yang on the chest just above his heart and a larger one on the back. He wore slightly black pants that had several pockets, that lee assumed were for holding kunai, shuriken and any other ninja tools he used. Over the shins of these pants was a pair of hard guards that had an image of blue flames embossed on them. He also wore a long black coat that reached all the way to his ankles not unlike the one Moreno Ibiki had worn during the Chuunin Exams. Strangely enough his hands were, like Lee's bandaged though the bandages only went a little past his wrists.**

"**Then you have my thanks, Lee-san." Ryu said with a small bow and he turned to go. Lee looked for a while before turning back to his rock. He raised his leg to kick when a thought occurred to him.**

"**Your name…" He said turning back, "It's Shugojin Ryu, correct?" He said.**

"**Yes that's right. " Ryu said looking over his shoulder at Lee. **

"**Well then, Ryu. My normal sparring partner, Hyuuga Neji is on a mission today, and I was planning to ask one of the other Chuunins, but since you are here… I assume you're well correct?" Lee asked quite calmly.**

"**Yes that's also correct." Ryu said, a smile creeping across his face as he guessed what Lee's next question would be.**

"**I would appreciate the chance to spar with you." Lee said quite calmly.Ryu looked strangely at him. He'd been expecting something like this after he'd asked Tsunade about the person who'd rescued him, but she had said he was very over the top when it came to fighting not calm and composed.**

"**Sure, sounds like fun." He said and almost instantlya startling change came over Lee. His eyes lit up and Ryu could almost feel the untamed energy coming off him.**

**_Maybe I'm in over my head… _Ryu thought when Lee disappeared away from the rock and reappeared on the open ground behind Ryu. Despite the thought of his own possible inadequacy Ryu smiled as he removed his jacket and threw it onto the fence.**

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"****Wow." Sakura said as she surveyed the damage done to the landscape by Rock Lee and Ryu's skirmish. The ground was shredded, small holes and some not so small littered the ground. A tree had been uprooted and now lay on its side. The rock that Lee had been attacking was shattered. Lee's training weights lay unused in a small crater.**" 

**The two combatants stood just a few feet from each other. Lee was smiling with the same burning passion that always filled his eyes while he fought. A small distance away Ryu stood with a small smile on his face though his eyes looked as though he'd zoned out. **

**Lee disappeared and Ryu followed suit. Sakura's eyes couldn't keep up with the two combatants, though Kakashi and Naruto seemed to be able to at least get a glimpse of what was going on. **

**Without warning Lee and Ryu reappeared Ryu landing a solid punch to Lee's face while Lee in turn hammered his ownfist into Ryu's gut. Both fighters fell to the ground in pain and stayed that way for a few minutes before looking up at each other with a smile. Ryu stood and some-what shakilybowed to Lee and Lee returned the favor.**

"**Thank you for the practice. It seems we have gained a few observers." Ryu said at Sakura and the other two. Lee glanced at them and waved while he returned his weights to their proper positions, on his forearms and shins.**

"**How are you Sakura, and who are your friends?" Ryu said politely as he walks toward her with a slightly limp.**

"**I'm fine Ryu. This is Kakashi-sensei and Naruto. Kakashi, Naruto this is Ryu." She said gesturing to the two beside her. Ryu sized up the blonde first he wore an orange and black jumpsuit though his most noticeable feature were his eyes. There was something strange about those deep blue eyes though Ryu couldn't place it, but from the moment he'd heard the boys name he'd felt strange. Kakashi wore the traditional Konoha Jounin uniform.**

"**Kakashi?" Ryu said slowly, remembering the report he'd read back in the hospital room. "and… Naruto…" He said wincing slightly and bringing a hand to his temple. "I've heard that name before." All in a rush memories flooded through his mind.**

**A black haired boy with onyx eyes that showed pain and sadness stood before. "She's not here. But I can help you if you help me. I need to send a message… to Sakura… and… Naruto…" The boys face faded and disappeared. Other memories, not so clear, came too flashing before his eyes. A blue skinned winged man stood on a roof opposite another winged man with black eyes that seemed to glow. Lying on that same roof holding Keiko in his arms while looking up at the stars. Tied to a pole in a world where white was black and black was white, forced to watch Keiko die while bathed in black light from the glowing red moon above. Ryu fell into darkness and thought no more.

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**Ryu weaved back a forward like a drunken man and fell towards the ground. Lee and Sakura both moved to catch him before he hit the ground. Sakura helped Lee roll him over onto his back and quickly check his vital signs.**

"**He's okay, just unconscious." Sakura said, thinking aloud.**

"**I hopethat thisdoesn't have anything to do with our match." Lee said slightly worried.**

"**Don't worry about it Lee. He'll be fine. Just give him a while to wake up. If you're not busy at the moment you might take him back to the hospital since I don't know where he's staying."**

"**That's no problem since I'm heading there anyway. I think I'll need some ointment for somethese my nastier bruises." He said as he hoisted Ryu onto his back for the second time in only four days.

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**It was a several hours before Ryu finally woke up. He blinked a few times and looked around. It was night now as he could see through the window though it wasn't very late. Ryu tried to remember how he got here but the last thing in his memory was… He didn't want to think about that. Ryu tried to return to sleep but found that he couldn't. Every time his eyes closed he was tied to the pole again, forced to watch as… **

**Ryu shook his head vigorously and rolled out of the bed. Imeadiatly he winced in pain fromsoremuscles and bruisedflesh.After a moments search found his clothes in a small pile on the table next to his bed. Ryu opened the window and after looking about for a moment he jumped through the window.**

**He wandered the empty streets aimlessly for a while wondering where he would sleep tonight though for the moment it wasn't a big concern. Without meaning to he came to the training ground that he and Lee had sparred in and after a moment heard voices. For lack of anything better to do he listened to the person as he yelled out something about the last joke in something called Icha Icha Tactics and someone yelling "oh no**

**Completely confused he stood there for a minute until Sakura and her two friends came out of the forest. Sakura and Naruto were laughing about something while Kakashi was making an expression thatwasdifficult to discern through his mask, but none-the-less seemed to besomewhere between pride and annoyance. He alsoappearedto be muttering something though it was hard to tell through the mask.**

"**Sensei, you shouldn't say such things about your students, you might damage our self esteem!" Naruto was saying loudly with an expression of mock depression plastered across his face. Sakura laughed harder and as Kakashi muttered something about bratty kids and spoilers. After a moment Sakura looked up and saw Ryu leaning on the fence that outlined the training ground.**

"**Oh hello Ryu. I'm glad that you're okay. What are you doing out here this late? Don't you have a place to stay tonight?" She asked curiously.**

"**Well I couldn't sleep in a hospital bed again,"Ryu replied not really wanting to discuss his newfound memories with anyone at the moment. "But no I don't have a place to stay at the moment." **

"**You could stay with me if you want." Naruto said surprising Ryu.**

"**Are you sure? I don't wa..." Ryu started to say but he was interrupted. Loudly.**

**"Sure I'm Sure! A friend of Sakura-chan's is a friend of mine!" He said with a large grin plastered on his face. Ryu smiled as Naruto led him to his old home. **

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**Ah... don't you just love the smell of fresh Fan Fiction in the evening?**


	3. Warning

**Great Saiyaman: Thanks I actually started this story at when the Manga was at this point.**

**Dcitychild: Wish Granted )**

**deedee2034: Sorry about the lack of action but I tried to spice this one up to make up for it.

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**At the same time that two boys, Naruto and Ryu,began a friendshipwhile they headed towards what was home and sleep, another boy woke from sleep, a boy who hoped to regain the friendship he'd ended three years ago, though at the moment he was more focused on his original goal of vengeance..**

**Uchiha Sasuke quickly rolled up the small cot he'd slept on for the previous few hours. He picked up the first article of clothing he'd left piled a few feet away. It was a pair of black pants similar to the ones Kakashi wore. Next he put on the dark skintight sleeveless shirt that outlined his muscular chest. Over this he wore a long-sleeved leather coat. Next he put on an old pair of sandals, and tied the shuriken holsters to his inner forarms. **

**He quickly disarmed the traps he'd set around himself, so he could sleep somewhat peacefully for a few hours. As soon as the traps were down he began erasing all traces of his presence there. The ashes were the fire had been were buried, any branches he'd broken were removed, and the dirt he'd scuffed up was brushed over. This goalaccomplished he stood on the edge of his camp near the Hidden Rain Village. **

"**Itachi. I'm coming for you." Hemuttered as he stepped away from the small forested area of his camp and into the plains that he knew eventually turned into the desert of the Wind country. He started walking and slowly his pace changed to a light jog, then he began to run, and finally he began to sprint.**

**The past three years of training under the Sannin Orochimaru, had changed him both mentally and physically. Under Orochimaru he'd been put through a hellish physical training regimen which, on a daily basis began with climbing to the top of a mountain that was two miles away from the compound where Orochimaru resided with one hundred pound weights on each arm and two hundred pound weights on each leg. When he returned from that warm up the real training began. It included sparing with as many as fifty opponents at once with the same weights on his arms and legs. Another training session involved a calisthenics workout with a jutsu cast on him that made his body's weight increase to ten times the norm.**

**As Sasuke ran his thoughts went over the last week or so. Orochimaru had asked him to come to his room, for his next mission. He was told to go to the Hidden Village of Rock and assassinate several leaders there, while at the same time make it look as if ninja's of the Hidden Mist had done it. He'd told Orochimaru that it would probably take him one month to do so properly. Orochimaru agreed and Sasuke had left. But had given explict orders not to take any longer than that.**

**Instead of going to Mist and finding someone that he could pin the assassination on he had headed straight for Hidden Sand. Earlier that same day he'd gained some information from one of Orochimaru's agents, about a plot by the Akatsuki to capture the Hidden Sand Kazekage. If members of Akatsuki were going to the Sand, the Sasuke planned to be there.

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**It took the average Shinobi two days to get from the Rain to the Hidden Village of Sand. Sasuke did it in a little over eight hours.**

'**_First things first…' _Sasuke said to himself, as he moved his way through the streets to the large somewhat circular building in the center of the city. He'd decided to warn the Kazekage first. Sasuke wasn't sure if he'd believe him but he had to do it anyway.**

**Shinobi were placed all around the complex but Sasuke had no real problem slipping by them, something that worried him. If it was this easy for him to slip by then how hard could it be formembers of the Akatsukitoinfultrate the place. Though his real reason for coming here was to get information from the Akatsuki members, he found that he didn't wish for anyone from this peaceful village injurd.**

**He made his way slowly through the large building, sneaking past guards and looking for the Kazekage's quarters. It took a while but eventually he found the large ornate room. Inside a man stood out on the balcony overlooking the village. Sasuke thought it was strange for someone to be awake at this hour, but it made his job easier none-the-less.**

**Sasuke made his way almost soundlessly towards the man on the balcony, but the man sensed his presence despite Sasuke's near perfect stealth. He turned almost imperceptibly as Sasuke stepped out onto the balcony, to stand a few feet from the man. He looked up at the moon for a moment before he turned to face the man. Sasuke was surprised, and the situation was instantly complicated. The black-ringed eyes pale green eyes of Sabaku no Gaara stared back at him, calm acknowledgement showing in his eyes.**

"**What are you doing here Uchiha Sasuke? The last information I had on you said you had gone to Orochimaru. Are you here on his business or your own?" Sasuke was silent for a moment as he looked back up at the half empty moon. He was somewhat surprised that Gaara hadn't attacked him on sight, since last time they'd met it had been on the field of battle. Then again, Sasuke musedfor him to have become Kazekage, he couldn't really be the same bloodthirsty maniac that he'd been before.**

"**I'm here to warn you," He said pausing before adding, "Of my own free will."**

"**Warn me?" Gaara answered slightly surprised though it didn't show in his eyes.**

"**The Akatsuki are coming for you. They are supposed to be here tomorrow." Gaara said nothing for a moment then he said without a trace of humor in his voice.**

"**I guess I'll just have to greet them personally when they arrive." As soon as Gaara's words left his mouth sand poured out of the gourd on his back and formed hundreds of eyes. The eyes scattered all in different directions. There would be no sneak attack on the Hidden Sand Village.

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**Sasori and Deidara walked slowly towards the pass that lead into Hidden Sand. It wasn't long before two figures became apparent there.**

**Sasuke and Gaara stood alonein the middle of the entrance to the pass. Neither of them looked happy.**

"**Leave now." Gaara said with no emotion in his voice.**

"**And if we don't?" Deidara asked with a smile playing on her lips. Sasuke smiled in return.**

"**We'll make you leave." He said as he activated his Sharingan.**

"**Ah… Itachi's brother…" Sasori said as he removed his wide brimmed hat to reveal the strange black ridges on the top of his black haired head. The only sign of Sasuke's hatred of that name was a small twitch in his hand.**

"**So… you do know something of my brother." Sasuke said quietly. "Tell me where he is and I'll let you leave alive."**

**Sasori simply laughed, a low cold laugh, not patronizing like Orochimaru's but detestable none-the-less. **

"**Deidara, capture the Jinchuuriki. I'll dispose of this brat." Sasori said. Deidara held out a clay bird in her hand with the same smile playing across her face. The bird hopped off of her palmand the woman's hands formed a seal. There was a burst of smoke and when the dust cleared a huge clay bird stood there. Deidara jumped onto the birds back and it took off into the blue sky above. Gaara wordlessly followed up on a cloud of sand.**

**Sasuke and Sasori were left on the ground facing one another. Sasuke continued to smile as Sasori stood motionless. Sasuke decided to see how the Akatsuki member could deal with taijutsu.**

**Sasuke charged forward, not nearly at full speed, but fast enough to make Sasori cautious. He was justwithin twelve feet of the squat man when he saw a blur through the Sharingan. Sasuke skidded to a halt and back flipped all in less than an instant. Before him imbedded in the sand was a long tail made of flat and spherical parts that fit together almost like the pieces of a puzzle. While normal sight might not be enough to see it, Sasuke could see lines of chakra connecting the pieces.**

"**So… you're a puppet master…" Sasuke muttered. Sasori said nothing instead he stood there watching Sasuke for any sign of his next move. Sasuke rushed him again, faster this time, trying to get a gauge of just how fast that tail move.**

**The tail lashed out again and Sasuke knew that without the Sharingan there would have been now way for him to dodge. Sasuke tried to move in for a strike but was forced back each time by the wild strikes of the tail.**

"**This could be interesting…"

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**Up high in the air Gaara and Deidara faced each other. Without any warning sand closed in from all directions. Deidara's large bird was hard pressed to escape the walls of sand that threatened to crush both it and it's strange artistic mistress.**

**Soon after escaping the prison of sand, Deidara sent two crane-like sculptures back at Gaara, who instantly encased himself in the sand blocking the explosions. Only the eye of sand above the sand showed him what was happening around him. Gaara decided to bring up some reinforcements. Raising his arms within the shell, he raised thousands of tons of sand from the complete opposite side of the town and brought it to him. Given a choice he would have brought it up from direct underneath him, but there was to much danger to Sasuke in that.**

**Forming the gigantic arms of Shukaku, the sand rushed towards Deidara who was left with only one option for the moment. Run.

* * *

****While Garra was obviously in control of his own battle, Sasuke was having trouble. For all his speed and agility, nothing he threw at the puppet master worked. Throughout the enite battle the only time the man hadmoved waswhen Sasuke had launchedhis Goukakyuu no jutsu, towards him. He'd dodged away and all the attack had succeeded in was turning the sand where the man had stood to glass.**

**Now Sasuke knelt on the ground just out of reach of that long whip-like tail. He looked down at the ground before him where there was a line drawn in the sand, where Sasori had missed in an attack. Inside was some kind of gooey liquid, with the consistency of something like green honey. It took Sasuke onlya moment to realize just what it was. Poison.**

**That moment a plan shot through Sasuke's mind, and he knew how to win this fight. The Only problem was it would likely loose him any chance to get any information from his brother.**

**Sasuke burst into motion charging, towards the squat man. Sasuke watched for the tail to snap into his vision and when it did instead of dodging it, he grabbed onto the end of it. As soon as he had a grip he concentrated his chakra onto the very last piece of the tail, the spade shaped spike trying to disrupt the chakra that Sasori used to hold it together. It loosened and Sasuke through it before Sasori really knew what had happened. After acomplishing this Sasuke simply couldn't hold on anymore and was smashed against the ground like a rag doll. Despite this the attack succeded.**

**Sasori tried to dodge, but the spikejust barely grazed theside of his face. Sasuke lay in the sand a few feet away, in pain from the fall but not so much that his couldn't look up at Sasori withgrin. Sasori glared back at him and began to back away.**

"**Deidara!" he yelled as his face began to sweat from the effects of the poison. "We're leaving." Deidara swooped down still trying to dodge the sand arms and Sasori jumped onto the bird.**

"**We'll be back." Sasori said.**

"**We'll be ready." Gaara said as he landed next to Sasuke who still lay on the gorund. The huge arms of sand dissolved and fell back to the sands.**

"**Please, Gaara. Follow them." Sasuke said. Gaara nodded andoneeye of sand was form andfollowed thepair of black cloaked figures,out into the desert. **

"**I'll be back in a little over a month to see what you learn. Please tell no one I was here." Sasuke said. As he stood and walked away.**

"**As you wish. I owe you that much." Gaara said.**

"**Thank you." Sasuke said as he walked off into the burning sands in the direction of Konoha.

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**Small change of pace here. I'm sorry that Gaara's fight didn't have much to it but he has a very hard style to write about. Anyway I hope you enjoyed it and I'll try to continue ASAP.**


	4. Damn you EroSennin

Amanda: Thanks I hope you keep up with the good reviews!

Dragon Man 180: It'll be awhile before that happens but I promise Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara will be seeing more of each other!

December Jewel: Continue I have, and talking like Yoda I enjoy!

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"Sakura-Chan says that you've seen Sasuke." Naruto said as soon as Sakura and Kakashi were out of earshot.

"That's what I've been told." Ryu answered with a sad look in his eyes.

"So it's true you don't remember..." Naruto said quietly looking down at the ground. "I'll just have to wait a month then." The pair walked in silence for a moment before Ryu spoke.

"I wouldn't worry too much…" Ryu said thoughtfully. "I think he'll come back. After all, I don't know what it would take to keep me from coming back to a girl like Sakura." As he said compulsively he reached up to the necklace around his neck. Naruto laughed but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Yeah it'd be nice to have someone who cared that much." Naruto said as they passed Hyuuga manor.

* * *

Hyuuga Hinata rarely woke during the night. In fact most times it was only something loud like a storm or something falling right outside her bedroom that could awaken her. She knew almost instinctively there had been no sound to awakened her.

Hinata's room was sparsely decorated. The walls were painted white and across from her bed was a closet that had a full length mirror set into the door. In the corner was a chest of drawers that held her clothes. Next to her bed was a small cabinet which had a lamp on it though at the moment the light was off.

She looked around the room and though she knew the shadows in the room well something seemed out of place. She was afraid and it took her a moment to think of using the Byakugan. When she finally did she did so slowly and hesitantly, for fear of what she would see.

* * *

As Naruto and Ryu passed the huge mansion they heard a scream come from within that was quickly cut short. It sounded female. Naruto and Ryu both without thinking about it jumped to the top of the wall that surrounded Hyuuga manor and sat there watching for any signs of movement. They were quickly rewarded as four figures jumped quickly over the wall and ran in the opposite direction, one of whom seemed to be carrying a person who wasn't struggling.

Both Naruto and Ryu chased after them, sprinting first along the topof thewall, and then through the streets. They gained quickly on the shinobi ahead though they didn't notice. Ryu was glad of this thinking that they mightbe able to use asurprise attack, but Naruto had other plans… less well thought out ones.

"HEY YOU BASTARDS LET HER GO!" Konoha's number one loudest ninja yelled, and succeeded defending his title most admirably.

All four stopped and turned. All of them were wearing black suits with their faces covered. Only the tallest really stood out, since he was carrying what looked like a human being on his back. He set his load down and all four prepared to fight.

"YOU FREAKING IDIOT! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO GO AND SCREAM LIKE THAT? WHAT KIND OF NINJA ARE YOU!" Ryu yelled smacking Naruto in the back of the head. Naruto was about to yell something back when all four enemyninja's charged.

Three of them attacked Ryu simultaneously, while the largest and apparently strongest attacked Naruto. Ryu was a fast person but against three opponents, while he was stillrecovering from hisfight againstLee,he could do nothing but block.

Naruto on the other had was having no problems attacking. The problem was making his attacks cause some damage. The single enormousninja was shrugging off all of Naruto's attacks. It was quickly looking as though the Rasengan was his only option.

As Ryu dodged in between attacks he began to notice a pattern in how the enemy ninjas were attacking. They always attacked in the same order, never quite the same attacks but always the same order. Ryu didn't have time to notice how simply odd this was but instead concentrated on predicting the attacks before they came.

"Kage Bushin no jutsu!" Four voices said in unison. Suddenly there were twenty Narutos surrounding their quite surprised enemy.

Unfortunately Ryu suddenlyfound himself in a similar situation.

"Shit." Two voices said at once. The unknown shinobi that Naruto was attacking found himself being held down by nineteen copies of the orange and black suited ninja. Naruto charged forward, adding his own momentum to the swirling ball of chakra in hand. He slammed the Rasengan into the mans chest and though all of his Bushin were destroyed, the shinobi was sent spinning in mid air before crashing into a tree.

Naruto started to turn to see if the girl on the ground was injured when the ninja stirred. Naruto watched in amazement as the seemingly invincible shinobi stood and began to walk towards Naruto. Naruto grinned and again summoned the clones of himself, though this time with a slightly different plan in mind.

Ryu was not doing as well. As a matter of fact… he was getting his ass handed to him. He couldn't attack back and was only barely managing to block a few of the attacks that were sent his way. A blow struck him in the back of the head, and he fell towards the ground. He lay there for a moment and was suddenly dog piled by the ninja's and their Bushin.

The world went dark for a moment, but not as it did when he had passed out earlier. Instead it felt as though in that moment some knowledge had been crammed into his head, and though it gave him a throbbing headache,he almost instinctively knew how to defeat his enemies. His hands formed seals and words came from his mouth, without any real effort on his part.

"Inabikari no Jutsu!" As the words left his mouth, beams of light shot out from his hands where the last seal had been formed. The twelve beams went straight up into the air and came down from the heavens like bolts of lightning, each striking a different target and while all the Bushin disappeared in puffs of smoke, the three real shinobi simple fell to the ground, though puffs of smoke also came from them. Ryu pushed himself to his feet, and watched Naruto knowing that if he attacked in the middle of the twenty Narutos, he'd only get in the way.

'_Besides,' _the badly bruised boy thought to himself_ 'it looks like Naruto's got it covered.'_

Five of the Naruto's charged in and using the kicking technique that both Naruto and Sasuke had stolen from Rock Lee, sent the enemy ninja spinning into the air. One other Naruto, smashed his heel into the shinobi's face sending him tumbling back towards the ground. The remaining fourteen Naruto's each created a Rasengan in their palms and struck in unisonas the extremely unfortunate ninja was about to hit the ground. This time he did not get up.

With the amazingly durableshinobi taken care of Naruto ran over to the small bundle of dark hair and night clothes that had been set of the ground. He quickly brushed her hair away intending to see if the girl was injured and gasped. He hadn't expected such a beautiful girl.

The girl's blue hair was about shoulder length and incredibly soft to the touch. She was slender and seemed, to Naruto's eyes, fragile. Naruto tried not to look, he really did but being with Ero-Sennin as long ashe couldn't help but notice that the girl was… well endowed. The girls eyes fluttered open and Naruto stared back into those angelic pure white eyes.

"Naruto… kun?" She said quietly and she reached up and put her arms around his neck hugging him tightly around the neck. Naruto acted on instinct and put his arms underneath her and lifted the small form from the ground. This only caused her to hold him tighter which caused certain body parts to be crushed against Naruto's chest while simultaneously affording him a view of. Naruto swallowed and closed his eyes.

"I will not be like Ero-sennin, I will not be like Ero-sennin, I will not be like Ero-sennin…" He repeated over and over like a mantra, refusing to allow himself even a peek at... the girls rather voluptuous… well maybe a peek wouldn't… He had saved the girl's life after all…

"PUT DOWN HINATA-SAMA!" A voice rang out, piercing the silence.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled. He looked down at Hinata's _face_ and realized who he was holding… and who he had almost…

Naruto forced that thought out of his head, simply concentrating on not allowing himself to fall to his lewd sensei's influence, while he allowed Ryu to explain what had happened, after all Hinata's small body wasn't' heavy, and plus it was cold outside and she was only wearing a nightgown and...

"Damn you, Ero-sennin." Naruto cursed under his breath.

"… So then you guys showed up and here we are." Ryu finished and the guards who had been pursuing them turned to Naruto, who was looking straight up with his eyes shut tightly and seemed to be chanting something.

"I'll take Hinata-sama back to her house. She'll be informed of who saved her tomorrow morning." One guard said and he started to take Hinata away from Naruto, but the girl, though unconscious, refused to be parted from him. She tightened her grip around his neck until it was all Naruto could do to mumble.

* * *

"Maybe it would be easier for me to take her back." The entire way back, Ryu laughed at Naruto's chant.

"I will not be a pervert, I will not be a pervert, I will not be a pervert…"

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Hope you enjoyed! I'm sorry it took so long, but I had to start writing my other two stories, one of which is one and the other (if your interested in my all original work) is on with the shameless advertising though. Thank you to all my reviewers, you guys always make my day. 


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